Aesthetic medicine includes all treatments resulting in enhancing a visual appearance and satisfaction of the patient. Patients want to minimize all imperfections including body shape and effects of natural aging. Indeed, patients request quick, non-invasive procedures providing satisfactory results with minimal risks.
The most common methods used for non-invasive aesthetic applications are based on application of mechanical waves, e.g. ultrasound or shock wave therapy; or electromagnetic waves, e.g. radiofrequency treatment or light treatment, such as intense pulsed light or laser treatment. The effect of mechanical waves on tissue is based especially on cavitation, vibration and/or heat inducing effects. The effect of applications using electromagnetic waves is based especially on heat production in the biological structure.
Skin tissue is composed of three basic elements: epidermis, dermis and hypodermis or so called subcutis. The outer and also the thinnest layer of skin is the epidermis. The dermis consists of collagen, elastic tissue and reticular fibers. The hypodermis is the lowest layer of the skin and contains hair follicle roots, lymphatic vessels, collagen tissue, nerves and also fat forming a subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT). The adipose cells create lobules which are bounded by connective tissue, fibrous septa (retinaculum cutis).
Another part of adipose tissue, so called visceral fat, is located in the peritoneal cavity and forms visceral white adipose tissue (VWAT) located between parietal peritoneum and visceral peritoneum, closely below muscle fibers adjoining the hypodermis layer.
Existing devices have low efficiency and they waste energy, which limits their use. Eddy currents induced within the coil create engineering challenges. Existing devices contain coils which are made of metallic strips, electric wires or hollow conductors. Since the therapy requires large currents, significant losses are caused by induced eddy currents within the coil. Eddy currents lead to production of unwanted heat and therefore there is need to sufficiently cool the coil. Also, the energy source must be protected during reverse polarity of resonance. This requires using protective circuits which consume significant amounts of energy.
Current magnetic aesthetic methods are limited in key parameters which are repetition rate and/or magnetic flux density. All known methods use low values of magnetic flux density and/or low repetition rates which does not allow satisfactory enhancement of visual appearance. As a result, new methods are needed to enhance the visual appearance of the patient.
The currently used aesthetic applications don't provide any treatment combining the effect of time-varying magnetic field treatment and conventional treatment, e.g. treatment by electromagnetic field such as radiofrequency treatment. The currently used radiofrequency treatment includes many adverse events such as non-homogenous thermal temperature, insufficient blood and/or lymph flow during and/or after the treatment. Additionally several adverse event such as panniculitis may occur after the treatment.